Doubles recommendation for an average size man (6')

[Eric Sedletzky]

Man you guys! All this talk about Royal Aquamasters. Must be nice.
Here I'm stuck with a DA that I haven't even been able to use because of 25 foot swells on the North Coast.
Maybe when I get it dialed in it'll be a sweet little reg.

BTW, I'd just go with a set of 72's. I just picked up another one from Peter C, Thanks Pete!
How many am I up to now. Hell, I lost count. But on those extended dive campouts I'll use every one of them.

 

[simonbeans]

Here is how the double 45 Catalinas sit. I am 5' 10".

 

[SwimJim]

Man you guys! All this talk about Royal Aquamasters. Must be nice.
Here I'm stuck with a DA that I haven't even been able to use because of 25 foot swells on the North Coast.
Maybe when I get it dialed in it'll be a sweet little reg.

BTW, I'd just go with a set of 72's. I just picked up another one from Peter C, Thanks Pete!
How many am I up to now. Hell, I lost count. But on those extended dive campouts I'll use every one of them.

The DA is a fine regulator and it is what I started my double hose adventures with. I dove with a guy who had a Scuba Pro MK 10. No matter what the techs did with it, the MK10 would free flow in cold water while my Pico Address DA would keep working flawlessly. He finally gave up on the Scuba Pro in sub 38 degree water. He calls it his resort regulator now. While this guy still dives mostly single hose, I bought another DA and restored it, then he bought from me. He loves the DA and so do I. A fine example of a double hose reg.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The DA is a fine regulator and it is what I started my double hose adventures with. I dove with a guy who had a Scuba Pro MK 10. No matter what the techs did with it, the MK10 would free flow in cold water while my Pico Address DA would keep working flawlessly. He finally gave up on the Scuba Pro in sub 38 degree water. He calls it his resort regulator now. While this guy still dives mostly single hose, I bought another DA and restored it, then he bought from me. He loves the DA and so do I. A fine example of a double hose reg.

I really do love my DA. But someday I really want a Royal since I hear they are the top of the line. It's just that work is really slow right now and I don't have that kind of coin to drop on another DH.
From what I hear double hose regs are naturally anti freezing just because of the nature of the design.

 

[captain]

This photo brings up a question I've been meaning to ask for a while. I see the bands allow for a center bolt to a backplate but did they ever make a band that would hold the two tanks right next to each other? I realise the manifold would then be about two" too long but I am wondering if in the early days (prebackplate) whether a different size manifold was used or if that space between tanks was always there?
I'll edit in a pick of my soft banded 72's to show you what I mean (in a minute).

Here it is:

All the vintage manifolds and bands have the same spacing, 8 & 1/8 inches. Soft bands either single or doubles weren't yet invented. The idea of independent doubles with two regulator wasn't mainstream like now days. Doubles back then weren't about redundancy, they were for a greater gas supply then was available in the single 72 which was pretty much the largest tank available at the time. Today a single 130 gives you almost as much as the double 72's back then.

 

[elan]

Here is how the double 45 Catalinas sit. I am 5' 10".

simonbeans with these you look nicer than Mike Nelson

 

[simonbeans]

The main reason that I chose the Al 45s and 50s is that they are both 6.9" in diameter. This is the diameter of the steel 71.2, 38, 42s and some early 50s. This diameter is the size that allows for bands that are currently being reproduced. You can get these bands at VDH. With these tank sizes and bands, you are restricted to a maniford that has the 8 1/4" spacing as Captain said above. Many of us are using original manifolds and thus have the choice of the 3 piece or a solid bar. Here are two examples:

USD was not the only mfg of manifolds. There were many others. Right now a good friend has a very nice Voit that you could use with the 8 1/4" spacing and with any of the mentioned cylinders with a 6.9" diameter and 3/4" straight "O" ring thread.
Voit Double Manifold

 

[SwimJim]

I really do love my DA. But someday I really want a Royal since I hear they are the top of the line. It's just that work is really slow right now and I don't have that kind of coin to drop on another DH.
From what I hear double hose regs are naturally anti freezing just because of the nature of the design.

Work is slow? More like non existant. I practically have to barter to get my tanks filled these days. LOL. You'll get that Royal, just be patient.

 

[Luis H]

This photo brings up a question I've been meaning to ask for a while. I see the bands allow for a center bolt to a backplate but did they ever make a band that would hold the two tanks right next to each other? I realise the manifold would then be about two" too long but I am wondering if in the early days (prebackplate) whether a different size manifold was used or if that space between tanks was always there?
I'll edit in a pick of my soft banded 72's to show you what I mean (in a minute).

Here it is:

I Agree with what Captain wrote above for the stuff available in the US and probably all of America (north and south), but on the other side of the Atlantic they had some strange rigs… well at least strange to us.

I have seen pictures of some doubles from France and/ or Italy that were almost touching each other. At least one set didn’t use any type of bands at all. The manifold held the tanks together at the top and a double boot held the bottom. The harness was attached to rings that were part of the manifold and other rings at the boot.

Technisub from Italy made a similar set of doubles that almost touch, but I can’t remember if they had bands or not.

In any case the European tanks were different sizes and different neck thread size.

 

[vshearer]

From: [email addresss deleted] (ROBBINS, ROB)
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 21:14 NZD
To: [email addresss deleted]
Subject: Antarctic Regs

Here is a chart of regulator performance from tests conducted by US
Antarctic Program from '89 thru '95. The data was accumulated by
Jeff Bozanic and Jim Mastro.

All dives were conducted in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Water temp
range -1.9C to -1.2C. All failures were due to free flow.

FFM dives were done in Dry Valley lakes. Water temp 0C.

Based on these tests, USAP now issues Maximus regulators. As
mentioned earlier, we have had NO failures for past two seasons
having made approximately 2000 dives on the regs during that time.

Hope the information is of value.

Rob Robbins
Scientific Diving Coordinator
US Antarctic Program

Regulator Type # Dives # Failures % Failure

Sherwood Maximus 1341 23 1.7%
Sherwood Blizzard 2 2 100.0%
Poseidon Cyklon 300 710 40 5.6%
Poseidon Odin 270 15 5.6%
US Divers RAM 259 45 17.4%
US Divers Arctic Supreme 7 4 57.1%
US Divers Pro Diver 3 2 66.7%
US Divers Conshelf Supreme 7 4 57.1%
Scubapro Mk10/G200 27 13 48.1%
Scubapro Mk10/D350 17 3 17.6%
Scubapro Mk200/G200 8 8 100.0%
Scubapro Mk10/D400 7 1 14.3%
Scubapro Mk10/Polar 6 2 33.3%
Scubapro Mk10/G250 1 1 100.0%
Dacor Extreme Ice 25 4 16.0%
Mares MR-3 2 2 100.0%
DSI EXO-26 FFM 106 11 10.4%
AGA FFM 12 0 0.0%
Totals 2989 178 6.0%